Hair Algae - I'm loosing the battle
- Thread starter WmTasker
- Start date
ReeferKimberly
Marley & Me
Looks like bryopsis to me. You can see the little feathery looking strands. So it is not GHA. Chasing nutrient numbers is probably not going to work. I would try the kent tech magnesium treatment. Do a search to learn more. Don't even try to manually remove any until the tech M starts to kill it, then you can start to syphon it out.
faithenfire
it's all IMO
personally, it looks like healthy bushy GHA
you can try turning the lights off
you can try manual removal followed by a water change
you can try a sea hare or lawn mower blenny
you can try snails- i prefer trochus cause they can turn themselves over
water changes are essential and be careful not to over feed
you can try turning the lights off
you can try manual removal followed by a water change
you can try a sea hare or lawn mower blenny
you can try snails- i prefer trochus cause they can turn themselves over
water changes are essential and be careful not to over feed
Crooked Reef
Active member
Look for a used aqua c remora. I don't know your budget but new they are about $190 with a maxi jet 1200. It is rated for 75 gallons. I use it on my 65 with a 20 gallon sump. I wish it was bigger for me but it pulls good skimmate.
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Jamesecosse
New member
A Sea hare will do the trick with that mate
ganjero
saiperchémibatteilcorazon
As a temporary solution you could try AlgaeFix
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1595003
How much do you feed? What livestock do you have?
For a tank that small you don't really need a skimmer, but you are using liverock that is about 15 years old and if it came from a nutrient rich system it might be leaching phosphates like crazy (you don't seen them in you test because the algae is using it). I would run GFO in a reactor and change it weekly until you have this under control.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1595003
How much do you feed? What livestock do you have?
For a tank that small you don't really need a skimmer, but you are using liverock that is about 15 years old and if it came from a nutrient rich system it might be leaching phosphates like crazy (you don't seen them in you test because the algae is using it). I would run GFO in a reactor and change it weekly until you have this under control.
ReeferKimberly
Marley & Me
ganjero
saiperchémibatteilcorazon
Looking at that pic closer it does look like bryopsis. I don't think the algaefix works on that.
The other part of my previous comment still applies. As suggested by ReeferKimberly raising magnesium has work for some when it comes to bryopsis
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1941038
I have had luck before in small tanks with big Turbo snails eating too.
The other part of my previous comment still applies. As suggested by ReeferKimberly raising magnesium has work for some when it comes to bryopsis
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1941038
I have had luck before in small tanks with big Turbo snails eating too.
I already have algae fix arriving on thursday. I hope it works but if it doesn't, I'll have to try the magnesium solution.
Do I have to order Kent Tech M, or can I use epson salt? I have used Epson salt in the past when I made my own DIY 2 Part calcium/alk.
ReeferKimberly
Marley & Me
Unfortunately it seems that it has to be kent. Other people have tried others but people have come to the conclusion that it is not actually the magnesium but some other unknown element of the tech m specifically (I wish someone would figure out what).
That sucks. I suppose the only way to do it right is get a salifert test kit also. I know reefs are never cheap but this algae is getting in my wallet. How many bottle of tech m do you think it will take to get my Mg on a 28g tank up to 1800 or greater?
Any thoughts on how the high levels on magnesium will affect the stuff in the tank? inverts, clam, anemone, corals, fish?
So I found a calcium/alk/Mg calculator online. It says that it will take 104 oz of Tech M to adjust my 30 gallon aquarium from 200 to 2000. Thats a lot? Has anyone ever did this to there tank and how much did it take?
http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
ReeferKimberly
Marley & Me
This should answer many questions, good luck!
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1113109&highlight=tech+m+bryopsis
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1113109&highlight=tech+m+bryopsis
Here are some different views of the algae. I really would like to know for sure if this is either Bryopsis or Green Hair? I do see a lot of fern like leafs in the tank. I want to order what I need to fix it, I just don't have the money to treat both. Thanks
Felix T Cat
Member
Is your mag level REALLY at 200 ?. Are you sure about that ?. Here is my thread started last week and I started at 1300, it took 11oz per day to raise 100 points. I have a tough time believing you are at 200 on a mag test. Even in my 135g tank which is a mess in progress I was at 1200.
I have seen a very significant impact over the past week using the Tech M and am very happy with the results.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2398820
And yes, my tanks look alot like yours.
Felix T Cat
Member
One more thing to remember (which I brain farted on the first time I tried to figure this out) is that your tank won't burn through 100 of mag a day so yes for the first week you will be dosing a significant amount to get levels up above 1800 or so from your starting point, once it is there it will not take much to keep it over that line so your Tech M usage goes down alot once you have the mag levels over 1800.
